


Search and Rescue

by ScarletteLyn



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Merman!Hanzo, Merman!Jack, it's gonna be SO FLUFFY, reyes and mccree are two fuckers in love with mermen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-16 21:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10580319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletteLyn/pseuds/ScarletteLyn
Summary: mermaid au centered around mchanzo although there's going to be reaper76 too. after being saved by one hanzo shimada, Jesse goes out of his way to risk his life and see the merman again. I don't know what else happens because I haven't written it yet tbh





	1. Wreck

The sound of the explosion had caught everyone’s attention but the fire had brought them all to the surface. A few dead bodies drifted in the water, weightless for a moment before being ripped apart by sharp teeth. The majority of their meal was unlucky in the fact that they had still been alive while they were being eaten. Nothing but bubbles and a muted noise left their mouths before they drowned. Hanzo, despite being in a great position of power, had always been more reserved. He thought that their food should not suffer, they were people with minds much like his own. After the school cleared, the two Shimada mermen rounded up the few still living and made sure they would live. The rest would wash up on shore and he could bring them home for another meal. Those ones were always dead so he felt no remorse in taking their corpses.

 

He waited patiently on the smoother rocks, watching the fire die slowly. It was beautiful even if it was eerie. So much life had been on that ship. He flicked his navy tail idly, watching the scales shimmer as the water dripped off of him. Two men had already washed up on the rocks but they wouldn’t be sufficient. They were too skinny. He swam along the line of rocks until a mess of matted brown hair caught his attention. Again, Hanzo hoisted himself onto a rock to examine the body it belonged to. Despite being unconscious, the chest was still moving. The man was still alive. Even though he knew that he would let this one go, Hanzo was curious to see a live human up this close. Brushing the hair away gently, Hanzo gasped. This man was beautiful. In the dying light of the ship’s burning wreckage and the moonlight overhead, his strong features were on display. A crooked nose told of fights he been in and his strong jaw was covered in a layer of stubble and soot. His skin was tanned and smooth as Hanzo ran his fingers along one of the man’s cheekbones.

 

“Are ya admiring the view darling?” A pained voice came from the injured man, still deep and smooth like whiskey the school had stolen from many human ships.

 

“I’m sorry,” Hanzo jumped and put some distance between them.

 

“No need to worry,” the man spoke again. “I ain’t really in the best shape to be tryna harm you. Not that I’d want to anyways.”

 

“You were not out to hunt merpeople?” Hanzo asked, curious.

 

“Nah,” he shook his head. “Just out fishin’. We gotta eat too. If you’re not going to kill me, could you help me up onto this here rock?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Hanzo spoke and moved without thinking. He helped the man up onto a flat rock that was just above the water and hauled himself up to sit beside the pirate. The other man was inspecting himself for injuries, making sure nothing was critically wrong with his own body before turning to Hanzo. A bright smile lit up the pirate’s face as he stuck a hand out eagerly.

 

“Name’s Jesse McCree,” He was starting to sound better. “May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of my rescuer?”

 

“Hanzo,” he shook the other man’s hand timidly, unsure of what this Jesse McCree’s intentions were.

 

“Well I owe you a mighty big thank you Hanzo,” Jesse said. “You were making sure I was alive and whatnot.”

 

“You do not wish to know what would have happened to you if you’d been dead,” Hanzo chuckled. “At least it’s not a waste of such a handsome man. It would have been a shame to let my people eat you.”

 

“Well shucks darling,” Jesse’s face colored at his words. “But I ain’t the pretty one out of the two of us. That award goes to you.”

 

“I should go,” Hanzo said suddenly, jumping back into the water out of embarrassment. 

 

“Hey wait!” Jesse’s words froze him. “I meant it, how will I see you again?”

 

“For your sake I hope you don’t see me,” Hanzo spoke quietly. “That would mean an ill fate for you. Goodbye Jesse McCree.”


	2. Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for the comments <3 I really do appreciate every comment and kudos and from your support, I managed a longer second part!

Weeks passed and Captain Reyes acquired another ship and was readying to set sail. His first mate McCree looked out over the ocean from the deck, looking puzzled. He’d been acting strange since the shipwreck and everyone had noticed. Slowly the Captain walked up behind Jesse and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“What’s wrong Jesse?” Gabe was the only one allowed to call him by his first name. 

 

“I just can’t stop thinking of that night,” he pulled his hat off idly. “It feels like I dreamt it.”

 

“Shipwrecks can get the best of all of us,” Gabriel slung the rest of his arm around Jesse’s shoulders comforting me.

 

“A merman saved me,” Jesse muttered.

 

“What!?” The captain reeled.

 

“Pulled my sorry ass up onto the rocks so I wouldn’t drown,” Jesse kept looking out over the waves. “He was the most handsome thing I ever did see and we’ll probably never meet again.”

 

“Jesse,” Gabe breathed before speaking. “I know exactly how you feel. Years ago, the same thing happened to me and I’ve thought of that man every day since. Why do you think we sail over that stretch of sea so often?”

 

“I have to find him,” Jesse resolved.

 

“We’ll get you there kid.”

 

As even more weeks passed by, Hanzo was changing too. Genji noticed immediately and waited for a moment alone when he could talk to his older brother. Being the heir to the colony their parents had gathered had left Hanzo being the more reserved out of the two of them but this was a new level. Hanzo was basically turning into a shut in. He rarely left his room during the daylight hours and refused to talk to anyone. Most nights, Genji caught glimpses of a blue tail swimming up to the surface so one night he decided to join his brother.

 

“Brother,” Genji caught his attention before hoisting himself onto the rocks to sit beside Hanzo. “What troubles you?”

 

“Nothing, I am fine,” Hanzo said in his usual practiced voice.

 

“Don’t lie to me,” Genji chastised his older sibling. “I can see something is bothering you and I’m not about to let you suffer alone. Father is wrong in telling you to have no emotions.”

 

“I can’t stop thinking of that man,” Hanzo laid back against the rock they were sitting on. “He was heavily injured but still managed to smile, to make me smile. It was like the sun was shining through him.”

 

“Ooo keep telling me about him,” Genji rolled to lay on his stomach so he could stare at Hanzo while he talked.

 

“His voice nearly put me to sleep and his eyes were the most beautiful shade of brown.”

 

“Sounds like someone has found their mate,” Genji was giggling. “You’re talking just like Jack.”

 

“Perhaps,” Hanzo sighed. “But just like Jack, I will likely never see him again.”

 

“Maybe not,” Genji pointed in the direction of a ship that was sailing in.

 

The familiar passage stretched out in front of them and Reyes ordered the ship to a halt so Jesse could get out into a rowboat. As the first mate was throwing things into the old boat, Gabriel came by to check on him. A gift of a few bottles of whiskey and some nice cigars sent him off hopeful. On the rocks, the brothers could see the rowboat approaching. Genji told his older brother that he would be lying in wait nearby just in case it wasn’t his sailor but if it was, he could easily slip away to give them some privacy. Not that he would, since the younger Shimada would never be anything if not a troublemaker who like to over involve himself in his brother’s life.

 

As the small boat neared, Hanzo could easily make out Jesse’s messy brown hair and his ridiculous hat. He motioned to Genji that everything was fine before turning his attention back to the man who had returned for him. His stomach was twisting in knots and instead of waiting, Hanzo dropped back down into the water and swam up to the rowboat. McCree had been periodically looking around, hoping for any sign of the merman he’d met before and was only scared for a second when a head popped up beside his boat. Inky hair was spread in the water and clear brown eyes met his.

 

“Hit me with that oar and I’m leaving,” Hanzo said softly, a grin on his face.

 

“Aw shucks darling,” Jesse’s heart flipped wildly as he stared down at the man he couldn’t stop dreaming of. “I’d never dare on purpose. Wouldn’t want to hurt that gorgeous face.”

 

“So tell me,” Hanzo lifted himself out of the water, held up by his arms on the lip of the boat to  look properly at McCree. “Why have you been so foolish to return?”

 

“Well you didn’t exactly finish me off before now did ya?” Jesse let go of the oars and sat on the floor of the boat so he was eye to eye with the merman. “I doubt you’d do it now. Besides, I just couldn’t get you out of my head.”

 

“Yes, mermaids tend to have that effect on people,” Hanzo chuckled and McCree longed to hear more of it. “I can’t say I’m mad such a handsome sailor would risk his life to come see me again.”

 

“What do you say to pulling this boat up on the rocks and spending some time together?” Jesse searched around in the boat. “Have a few drinks.”

 

“Who am I to refuse?” Hanzo smiled wider. 

 

Gabriel was watching through his binoculars as Jesse beached the boat with the help of the merman. He hadn’t been brave enough to ask Jesse for the name of the man he was pining over, afraid it would shatter his hope to find Jack in the same place. Once he was satisfied that the man who he’d taken in as a son was safe, the captain ordered everyone to bed for the night and went into his cabin that felt much too cold on it’s own. As soon as he laid down, he dreamt of blonde hair and the smile that melted his cold heart all those years ago.

 

“So Hanzo,” Jesse took a swig out of the bottle of whiskey before passing it to the other man. “Am I wrong in entertaining the thought that you were waiting for me too?”

 

“Perhaps not.”

 

Jesse watched as the merman drank, his tail swinging off the rock gracefully. It made the moonlight dance off his scales which he realised weren’t quite navy. They were more like an oil slick. All different colors depending on how the light hit them and once again McCree felt the need to know everything about this man. It was even more than that. He never wanted to leave Hanzo’s side and the feeling only grew as the night flew past them. The two talked about their families, with each asking questions about the other’s world. Hanzo was insatiably interested in the human world and what it was like on land. Jesse was equally as curious about life below the waves. 

 

Even as the black sky was lightening to purple, they stayed together and talked. Neither of them wanted to leave the other but as dawn was approaching, they realised their time had come to an end. Jesse had to return to the ship and crew while Hanzo had to go help his father run the colony. Once again, McCree was sitting in the bottom of the rowboat with Hanzo perched on the ledge, his head resting on his arms.

 

“How can I see you again?” Jesse asked, desperate for an answer that wasn’t a warning for him not to return.

 

“It’s not smart for us to meet here,” Hanzo spoke, feeling sad at the thought of leaving the other man already. “You’re endangering the crew as well as yourself. I’d hate for something to happen to you because I was not there in time to stop my people.”

 

“I don’t care,” McCree sounded like a child but his words were true. He’d risk everything for Hanzo, he already had. “I need to see you again Hanzo, please.”

 

“Where are you going?” Hanzo was hesitant to ask.

 

“Ilios,” McCree replied quickly, needing to hear what Hanzo would say.

 

“Meet me at the docks tomorrow night,” Hanzo reached over to brush Jesse’s hair out of his face. It was softer than he ever could’ve imagined. “I would like to see you again too.”

 

“Tomorrow then,” Jesse’s stomach dropped, realising this meant Hanzo was leaving.

 

“I’ll make sure your ship passes without incident,” Hanzo let his hand linger on Jesse’s face while he yawned.

 

“Get some sleep sweetheart,” Jesse said instead of goodbye.

 

“Tomorrow,” Hanzo promised before he was gone. 


	3. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love everyone! I'm being so productive with this <3 here, have a cute family centered chapter!

Jesse rowed back to the ship in equal parts good spirit and bad. His heart had left with his merman and he felt he understood Gabriel a little more. Although Hanzo had explained why mermaid had such power over humans, it didn’t make him feel any better. Up on the deck, Gabe was waiting for his first mate to return and helped him up. One look at Jesse and Reyes swept him into a hug.

 

“Are you okay kid?” He spoke as if Jesse was six again. “How did it go?”

 

“Let’s go talk in the office,” Jesse’s words were muted against Gabe’s shoulder but he still knew what McCree had said.

 

“So?” Gabe asked as the door closed behind them.

 

“He’s going to meet me in Ilios tonight,”Jesse curled up in the big chair behind the desk. “God Gabe, it feels too far away.”

 

“Hey at least you’re going to see him again, right?” Reyes tried to lift his spirits but knew how futile it was. “Go to sleep and we’ll be there when you wake.”

 

“How do you live like this?” Jesse looked up at him with tear filled eyes. “Does the pain ever leave?”

 

“No,” Gabriel answered quietly, looking sad himself. “You just learn to ignore it after a while.”

 

“How long?”

 

“I don’t know Jesse,” the Captain was turning to leave, the conversation too painful. “I’m still trying to learn how to do it myself.”

 

Jesse slept the entire way to Ilios, missing how tense the crew was as they passed through the colony’s territory. Hanzo was true to his word, fending off members of his school that threatened the boat as it left. When he returned, his father looked wildly unhappy while his mother stared at him with a knowing look. Genji took his duties for the day so instead the merman could sleep but not until his brother interrogated him about his night on the rocks.

 

“Dad’s pissed,” Genji began filling him in on all he’d missed. “Everyone figured you’d been leaving to look for prey but I couldn’t stop Mom from going up to see. They all know.”

 

“Oh no,” Hanzo rubbed at his temples.

 

“You know how Mom is, she’ll talk him down,” Genji went to sit on the bed of seaweed Hanzo slept in. “She’s just worried that you’re going to go with him.”

 

“I haven’t decided.”

 

“I’d ask if it’s really him but I think I already know the answer,” His little brother smiled sadly.

 

“I’m not going to leave you Genji,” Hanzo went to sit with his brother. “Not forever.”

 

They sat in silence, knowing what Hanzo’s answer meant. Mermaids and mermen bonded permanently to one person, the one who they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with. Unfortunately that only left them with three options if their mate was human. The first was to leave their school and join the world on the surface, with the second being the human leaving their world to join the school. Option number three was the most common yet the most painful. Not being with your mate meant daily heartsickness, pain, and a life lived alone. Only one in their school had chosen that while most had convinced their mates to join the colony. 

 

Jack Morrison lasted a whole day before regretting his decision to leave his lover and spare them both the choice. He left for a whole year trying to find that man before returning more miserable than ever. Since then, he’d told every mermaid and merman to make the choice no matter what because losing the family you grew up in was far less painful than leaving the one you love. They watched it eat him alive every day.

 

“Promise?” Genji looked over at his brother.

 

“Of course,” The older Shimada took Genji in his arms like he used to when they were little and the two cried, knowing that they’d be separated eventually.

 

Hanzo slept most of the day. It was restless and he dreamt of whiskey eyes and the soft lilt of Jesse’s voice. In the end, it was his mother that shook him out of sleep and she gave her son a moment to wake before speaking. Of course their father was mad, his eldest son might leave and he wanted Hanzo to bring his mate back at any cost but luckily he had a much more forgiving mother. Even if she was heartbroken at the thought of losing her son, she wanted him to choose what was best.

 

“I’ll understand if you go with whoever this is Hanzo,” She placed a hand on his tattooed shoulder. “I just hope you’ll come back to say goodbye.”

 

“Mother,” Hanzo started, his voice cracking. “I’ll still come and visit. Maybe I could even have Jesse come with me.”

 

“Oh thank god,” The older woman let out the breath she was holding. “Tell me more about this Jesse.”

 

And so Hanzo did. He told her about his warm laugh and how funny he was. How Jesse’s parents had died and he was raised on the sea but he loved his captain dearly for taking him in. How Gabriel was like a father to him. He spoke about how kind the sailor was and all the things he’d said to make Hanzo fall in love with him. An odd look came over his mother’s face so Hanzo stopped speaking.

 

“You said his Captain’s name was Gabriel?” she asked.

 

“Yes, why?” Hanzo was confused as she took his hand and led him out of the cave they called home. “Where are we going?”

 

“I don’t remember the name but Jack certainly does,” She said as they swam.

 

“You mean you think Jesse’s captain might be?” Hanzo’s words trailed off after one short nod from his mother as they went to find Jack.


	4. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some cute reaper76 reunion with a mchanzo background. Next chapter will be more mchanzo I promise!

“JACK!” The woman shouted as she swam closer to his cave. Dozens had been carved out of the rocks over the years and yet somehow everyone knew their way around.

 

“What do you want?” He asked, coming over to them with a frown and his arms crossed.

 

“What was the name of that man?” She spoke quietly, knowing he understood what she meant. “I know it’s hard but we have to know.”

 

“His name was Gabriel, Gabriel Reyes,” Jack sighed, wincing at the name. “He was a captain, had a kid.”

 

“Was that kid’s name Jesse by any chance,” Hanzo chimed in.

 

“It was,” Jack looked between the two Shimadas suspiciously.

 

“I think we may have found him by accident,” Hanzo watched as his words seemed to give Jack the hope he’d been craving all these years.

 

“How?” all the old man could was whisper.

 

“Jesse is my mate,” Hanzo explained. “We might be able to get him to come down tonight, I’m going to see Jesse.”

 

“Please let me come with you,” Jack spoke faster than he had in a long time.

 

“Of course, I’m going to go now if you want to come with.”

 

“I’m right behind you kid.”

 

Jesse was woken by Gabe late in the day. The sun was setting and he knew that the younger man would want to be down on the dock sooner rather than later even if mermen never really showed themselves in the daylight. Once a pitiful sight that brought too many memories of nights spent the same way, Jesse lept out of bed to dress himself. Jack smiled, glad that at least one of them was getting to see their beloved again.

 

“So did Hanzo tell you about your, uh, options?” Gabe asked, leaning on the doorframe.

 

“Sort of?” Jesse answered, tangled in his shirt.

 

“Most humans decide to join the merpeople,” Reyes looked down awkwardly. “Look Jesse, you know I love you. You’re my son after all these years but I don’t want you to stay behind because of me. I want you to be happy.”

 

“Thanks papi,” Jesse went over to hug Gabriel tightly. “Although at the very least, I don’t think we’ll be making any decisions tonight. And Hanzo told me we can always go back and forth. It’s not permanent. Maybe I could even look for Jack for you.”

 

“Don’t give me that hope kid,” Gabe chided.

 

“At least give me his full name so if I meet him, I can send him your way,” Jesse pulled on his pants before crossing his arms defiantly.

 

“You never were easy to deal with,” Gabe chuckled. “His name was Jack Morrison.”

 

The sun dipped below the horizon while Jesse swung his legs off the end of the dock, waiting. Each second felt like an hour. Just when Jesse’s spirits were dropping, a familiar blue tail left the water in the distance and he ran over as fast as his legs could carry him. Jesse slipped on the wet rocks until he made it to Hanzo who was waiting just as impatiently.

 

“Han,” Jesse purred, reaching out to touch the other man’s face gently.

 

“Jesse,” Hanzo smiled widely, leaning into the touch before he remembered the other merman with him. “I have a question.”

 

“Anything.”

 

“You said your captain fell in love with a merman once,” Hanzo laughed at the confused look on Jesse’s face. “What’s his name?”

 

“Gabriel Reyes, why do you,” Jesse trailed off. “I’ll be right back.”

 

With the same speed as before, Jesse sprinted back to the ship to find Gabriel half a bottle of whiskey in at his desk. The door almost flew off it’s hinges as the young man kicked it open, breathless and sweaty. Gabriel didn’t have time to ask Jesse what he was doing before the young man was hauling him up and pushing him off the boat.

 

“What in the hell Jess!” Gabriel roared.

 

“He’s here!” Was Jesse’s only excited answer.

 

“Yes I know your boyfriend’s here now let me go!” Gabe was still fighting him.

 

“No not just Hanzo,” Jesse stopped and stared Gabriel in the eyes. “They figured it out before we did.”

 

“What are you talking about son and you better explain quickly,” Reyes crossed his arms angrily.

 

“Jack’s here.”

 

Gabriel didn’t go willingly, fighting his son the whole way mostly because he didn’t believe him. He hadn’t been able to find Jack in ten years, how did he find him in three weeks? Out on the rocks, a striking young merman was sitting and running his fingers through the knots in his damp hair but he wasn’t the only one there. A shock of white hair was peeking out of the water and Gabriel froze, being pushed completely by Jesse. Carefully, he stumbled down the rocks in a daze and only barely heard the other merman call Jack’s name. The head of white hair turned and even though he was still half under the water, Gabriel knew his face. The old captain fell to his knees and sobbed just before Jack swam up to wrap his arms around his long lost mate.

 

“I’m so sorry Gabe,” Jack kept repeating as the other man cried.

 

“You left me,” Reyes managed, not letting go of the merman. Instead he hauled Jack out of the water and into his lap.

 

“I know, that was the worst decision I’ve ever made,” Jack was crying then too.

 

“Don’t,” Gabriel gasped for air, trying to stop the tears. “Don’t leave me again.”

 

“Never,” Jack pressed a kiss to his lover’s lips and it was almost like they hadn’t spent ten years apart.

 

“I looked for you every day,” Jesse and Hanzo could still hear them as they tried their best to move away to give the two some privacy.

 

“I’m sorry I ever gave up,” Jack spoke again before the younger men were out of earshot.


End file.
